For better...For worse

December 29th, 2012.

My wedding day had finally arrived!It was the very day I had been dreaming of ever since I was a little girl!That morning of our December wedding, a slight drizzle threatened to delay the much-anticipated event.From the bouquet I held to the color of garlands to the decoration for our reception and wedding, I must agree I had been very picky.It was 6 pm(we were late by 2 hours!) when I walked down the aisle , stood before God and all my assembled family and friends and exchanged my wedding vows with the man I had been engaged to for six  months.It's been one full year since that day and I've loved every single day after that.

I know that "the wedding isn’t the end of a love story, it’s just the beginning.The marriage vows aren’t just a part of the wedding program—the words “for better and for worse” are a realistic commitment ".And I've said those vows with confidence, knowing that God blesses a marriage that honors Him.

Looking back on the past one year ,I can only thank God for giving me a wonderful man  to share my life with.He is one of my greatest blessings from God.An answered prayer.Not that we haven't had our share of arguments or differences of opinion or that either of us are perfect but we  move on forward knowing that our marriage will grow strongest and sweetest when we rely daily on the Creator of love, for the grace, wisdom and strength to love each other as He first loved us.

Today,my parents, complete thirty years of married life!Life has never been easy for them.Yet through the ups and downs,our God's been faithful .Happy anniversary Amma and Appa!

And how can I not mention our little bundle of joy who arrived last month? On 6th November, Judy Prarthana,our daughter was born.She is indeed our gift from God.

Life is soo beautiful! And together we thank God for it :)

"What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord".Psalm 116:12,13

On this special day we thank God for Ragland and yes,we still miss you terribly:(

Faithful till the end!

From when I was a little girl, the story of ' Daniel in the lion's den' has always fascinated me.I've loved it every time when, even as a sunday school teacher, I narrated it to my sunday school kids.Well,last week as I was reading through the book again,I realized there was so much more to the old story that just the lion's den.

Daniel was taken as a captive to Babylon when he was just a teenager (12-16 yrs old).Having decided that he will not be defiled by the king's food ,he was eventually given a very high position in the kingdom.As years went by,the successors of king Nebuchadnezzar ignored Daniel and he was shuffled into some obscure office in the Babylonian bureaucracy.But when king Belshazzar found himself in trouble he called for Daniel.Unfortunately,the next king in power, Darius who loved Daniel,was forced to throw Daniel into the den because of Daniel's convictions about his one,true God.Well,we know what happened next.Do you know how old Daniel was when he was thrown into the lions den? He was atleast 80 years old!!Some even say he could have been a 100 years old!Even at that age, chapter 9 tells us that Daniel studied the scriptures and pleaded for his nation. 

For about eight odd decades, in a pagan land,Daniel  remained faithful to God.Daniel was a man who rose to a position of great power and honor in the secular world but who NEVER compromised on essential biblical principles.Instead,ALL his life,he had an impact on those around him -even the king!It was this godly man to whom God gave the unique opportunity of looking at the world's future.

Regardless of how sheltered our existence has been as children or how often we were taken to Sunday school,there comes a time when we are thrust into a pagan lifestyle that contradicts the Bible. Daniel shows us how to live a life of spiritual integrity in the crush of a secular world.Will we obey God regardless of the consequences?Can God trust us to remain faithful TILL THE END?